New Delhi: Tesla’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and SpaceX founder Elon Musk has been appointed to Twitter’s board of directors, the company announced on Tuesday, a day after the Tesla chief became the social media platform’s biggest investor despite voicing concerns about its free speech policies.
Twitter’s CEO Parag Agrawal said on Tuesday in a tweet, “Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our Board. He’s both a passionate believer and intense critic of the service which is exactly what we need on Twitter, and in the boardroom, to make us stronger in the long-term.”
“Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months,” Musk tweeted on Tuesday.
Musk, who bought a 9.2 per cent stake in Twitter, valued at $2.9 billion, is one of the platform’s most popular users. He has more than 8 crore followers. Shares of Twitter were up more than 6 per cent in pre-market trading.
According to reports, Musk’s term is set to expire in 2024, according to the filing.
For his entire board term or 90 days after, Musk cannot be the beneficial owner of more than 14.9 per cent of the company’s common stock outstanding.
According to reports, the value of Musk’s shares in Twitter is up to $2.9 billion based on the stock’s Friday close. The shares are held by the Elon Musk Revocable Trust.
Earlier, Musk, who is very active on Twitter, had put out a tweet asking users if they believe Twitter adheres to the principle of free speech. The Tesla CEO has been vocal of the social media platform and its policies of late and has said the company is undermining democracy by failing to adhere to such principles.